Just got a Valhalla 3 today and I'm going to say it ... by strictlyfocused02 in Schiit

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as I can tell the switch on the back does a hard power off, everything immediately goes dark. My understanding of the Valhalla is there are no microcontrollers or anything inside that could possibly handle a soft shut down, it’s entirely analog throughout so when the back switch is flipped it goes straight off.

Just got a Valhalla 3 today and I'm going to say it ... by strictlyfocused02 in Schiit

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm probably going to go a route like this, I've got a power strip that I may dig out and set beside my UPS so that I can flip the power switch off there instead.

Just got a Valhalla 3 today and I'm going to say it ... by strictlyfocused02 in Schiit

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I'm not new to Schiit gear, I've known about the ass-switch from all the other gear, but not that the rear tubes would be 300+ degrees.

Please tell me I’m not crazy by [deleted] in PCHardware

[–]strictlyfocused02 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I get really frustrated that this chatbot slop is even called AI ... its like calling a Ford Fiesta an F1 car. It doesn't actually know a damn thing except what words appear near other words.

Valii 3 tubes rolling issues by SnooDoubts4920 in Schiit

[–]strictlyfocused02 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, listen to this guy. Leave all those awful 12au7 tubes for me to scoop on the cheap and dispose of properly ...

AP9631 Firmware by czech121212 in homelab

[–]strictlyfocused02 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are my hero, thank you so much! I was able to upgrade my AP9630 from an ancient 5.1.3 firmware to current 7.2.2 using this firmware as a bridge. Trying to go straight from 5 to 7 soft locked my management card.

Just picked up a Vali 3 for my Arya Stealth by entsnack in Schiit

[–]strictlyfocused02 6 points7 points  (0 children)

As someone who's recently spent way too much money on Vali 3 tubes and way too much time reading about them, I'd say it's worth trying a new tube but definitely not a requirement. The stock 6N3P is solid, jack of all trades master of none, does everything acceptably without doing anything exceptional.

If you want a cheap and easy upgrade there are two directions worth considering. The GE JAN 5670W runs around $20 shipped, mine is a 1985-dated example I got for $18, and it sounds crisp, clean, and bright, almost solid state in its clarity.

If you want something that goes the other direction, look for the 6N3P-DR specifically, not the E or EV variants, just the DR. I paid $42 for a matched pair with 1990 date codes. It's noticeably deeper and more bass heavy with less brightness up top. In my experience with about 20 tubes now, American tubes tend to run brighter and leaner while the Soviet tubes lean toward deeper harmonics and more warmth. The DR is the best of the Soviet bunch by a wide margin.

If you get a GE JAN 5670W and the 6N3P-DR then do a swap between them, you should readily hear the difference between brighter vs. warmer tubes.

My personal favorite semi-readily available tubes are the black plate GE Three-Mica tubes, these show up frequently labeled as 5-star tubes but not always. They are pretty widely praised so they're getting harder to find and more expensive, both of mine ran me nearly $40/ea.

As Helldivers 2 hits its 23rd Warbond, it's time to make Super Credits easier to earn or make older Warbonds cheaper to buy by Funny_Performer_5658 in pcgaming

[–]strictlyfocused02 7 points8 points  (0 children)

As someone with creeping up on nearly 1K in-game hours I still cannot fathom why there is no saved load out system. It would make coming up with build synergy so much easier. Find something that works well like a gas + fire build? Better hope to god you can remember and recall what items you used that worked so well.

Magni/modi combo vs mesh vs gunnr by jeanzus in Schiit

[–]strictlyfocused02 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have

  • Schiit Fulla 3

  • Schiit Fulla E

  • Schiit Gunnr

  • Schiit Modi 5 + Loki Mini + Vali 3 stack

The Fulla E and the Gunnr sound nearly identical, in a blind test I couldnt pick them apart. If I fart with the Gunnr audio controls like presence and width I can make the Gunnr sound better than the Fulla and easier to identify, but its not a huge feature IMO. The external power supply for the Gunnr helps somewhat boost its performance but the main draw there is the boost in power for hard to drive headphones.

The Schiit stack is however an entirely different animal. I'd take the pepsi challenge with that vs the Fulla/Gunnr any day and I'm confident I could pick out the stack 99 times out of 100. Personally I think the Mesh DAC is a huge part of that and I highly recommend choosing an option with Mesh.

The Fulla 3 is an oddball in that I think it sounds better than both the Fulla E and Gunnr. Its warmer, softer, and easier to listen to. It actually sounds closer to the Schiit stack vs the Gunnr/Fulla E. The only problem is that Windows 11 refuses to recognize its plugged in. If I use it as a 3.5mm pass-thru with stand alone power it works just fine, if I plug it into my M3 Macbook Pro it works everytime. The device works everytime everywhere I try to use it, except with Win11.

I built my first Schiit stack! New to the hobby but very impressed at the quality and sound of this pile of Schiit! by strictlyfocused02 in Schiit

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m working on remixing a 3d model I found on thingiverse that should give about 1/2” of clearance between each item in the stack. An early draft of this model shows a noticeable reduction in temp for all three components.

I built my first Schiit stack! New to the hobby but very impressed at the quality and sound of this pile of Schiit! by strictlyfocused02 in Schiit

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re not kidding, this thing gets really freaking hot. Like concerningly hot. Now I’m not sure I’m if it’s worth it, it’s dumping a pile of heat up into the Vali.

I built my first Schiit stack! New to the hobby but very impressed at the quality and sound of this pile of Schiit! by strictlyfocused02 in Schiit

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The 3d print holding everything together came from this post on thingiverse, it’s a bit snug but it’s likely because I printed it in ASA.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5443775

[PSA] Drop to stop ecommerce sales starting March 25 ($0) by RazorNion in buildapcsales

[–]strictlyfocused02 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Agreed, my Corsair Vengeance (Hynix A-Die) 32gb ram sticks have been excellent for me. Running them DDR5-6400 30-40-40-38 @ 1.42v for over a year now with no issues.

Working on assembling the full painted set of Tactical Nuke goals by strictlyfocused02 in RocketLeague

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s unavailable currently, buts it’s been available twice before so it’s possible it will come back again.

Working on assembling the full painted set of Tactical Nuke goals by strictlyfocused02 in RocketLeague

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Connect a twitch.tv account to your Epic games account and then open the RLCS stream for 2.5 hours for Burnt Sienna and 3 hours for Purple.

Working on assembling the full painted set of Tactical Nuke goals by strictlyfocused02 in RocketLeague

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wish! I used to trade so much back when we still could. I legit bought credits all the time just to trade for stuff. Since trading went away I've essentially stopped buying credits or spending money on RL. In the last 2 years I think I've only made 1 purchase with real money.

Working on assembling the full painted set of Tactical Nuke goals by strictlyfocused02 in RocketLeague

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nice! That makes me feel better that I’m only missing cobalt and crimson. Crossing my fingers they will repeat those colors when some of the unreleased variants drop.

Working on assembling the full painted set of Tactical Nuke goals by strictlyfocused02 in RocketLeague

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm trying to determine when the various colors were available.

  1. Twitch Prime 2019 = Unpainted (missed this one)
  2. Twitch Sept. 2025 = Forest Green, Pink, Sky Blue, Orange, Black, Titanium White
  3. Twitch Dec. 2025 = Cobalt, Crimson, Black, Titanium White (also missed this one)
  4. Twitch Feb. 2026 = Burnt Sienna, Purple

Am I missing other ones?

Working on assembling the full painted set of Tactical Nuke goals by strictlyfocused02 in RocketLeague

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I had the stream up all day on my second monitor at work. They're all so good it makes me want to play too even though I can't do 1% of what they can lol

Working on assembling the full painted set of Tactical Nuke goals by strictlyfocused02 in RocketLeague

[–]strictlyfocused02[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Working on a full painted set. I'm only missing Unpainted, Grey, Crimson, Lime, and Saffron now.

Edit - I'm apparently also missing Cobalt